The 28-year-old set up a new record when he won the award for four straight seasons in a row between 2008 and 2012, while sharing last season's award with Neymar and Ronaldo.

However, his Portuguese counterpart has already scored 16 goals in this season's Champions League, with the second best goalscorer of the competition, Robert Lewandowski, seven goals away and no longer in the tournament.

The 31-year-old will therefore win the Golden Shoe for a fourth consecutive year – having shared last season's accolade with Messi and Neymar – and take his overall tally to five.